Tough Love
by sara-cupcaked
Summary: The real reason Grissom asked Sofia out. ONESHOT, angsty GSR. Please R&R!


**Title: **Tough Love  
**Spoilers: **Nesting Dolls (513) and Unbearable (514)  
**Rating: **K  
**Disclaimer: **I do not own anything! They all belong to CBS :(  
**Beta:** GER  
**Notes: **This is my first oneshot AND angsty GSR story, so please be nice. I would love constructive criticism though, everyone learns from that. :) This is my version of why Grissom asked Sofia out after only knowing her for a short amount of time. I was so angry watching that episode, I was practically screaming, "WHY DIDN'T YOU ASK SARA?!" This is a better alternative compared to kicking the DVD player :D

Please enjoy!

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**Tough Love**

Grissom's emotions were currently so messed up he couldn't make sense of it. He had just found out Sara's true problem, and he was filled with guilt for not seeing it earlier. She was so vulnerable then, he wanted to tell her how he really felt, but he couldn't. His mind just wouldn't let him do it.

On top of having his team split up, he also acquired a new CSI in the form of a blonde whom he had a feeling took certain interest in him.

"Grissom."

Sara Sidle's voice rang into his empty office like church bells on a Sunday morning, starling him slightly. She had a case file in hand, and Sofia Curtis was standing right next to her. He had never seen them side-by-side before, and was subconsciously starting to compare them against one another.

Sara's mahogany tresses bounced as she walked, whereas Sofia's ash blonde hair swished side-to-side tamely. Her grey eyes were light and open while Sara's brown eyes concealed more than he'd care to think about. Sara stood only slightly taller than Sofia and both of them were dressed in dark clothing.

"We're on our way to the Kyman house. Coming?" Sofia asked, voice tinged with something more than professional courtesy. He noticed Sara turn her head slightly, frowning, but not saying anything.

"Yeah, I'll see you guys at the car. I have to get this done first." He answered casually, glancing at the both of them before bending his head down to continue his paperwork. When he lifted his head again, the two figures were already disappearing. His eyes were glued onto one – her dark hair leading his eyes into a mesmeric state.

**GSRGSRGSRGSRGSR**

"You wouldn't know that in my house. The fights, the yelling, the trips to the hospital. I thought everybody lived like that… When my mother killed my father, I…I found out that it wasn't." Sara broke down, shoulders shaking violently as she sobbed.

Grissom watched her, desperately trying not to tear up. He now knew exactly why Sara had such a rough time dealing with domestic abuse cases. He reached down for her hand, wishing he could stop her pain. He held on tight, but Sara continued crying, harder this time.

**GSRGSRGSRGSRGSR**

"Baby powder," Sara said to no one in particular, checking on one of the many bottles in baby Joel's room. Sofia nodded and continued to work. She was on her knees, using the UV light on the carpet to check for any signs of a struggle. Grissom was standing by the doorframe, watching both of them work.

Sara was now taking a sample of the powder, labeling a small plastic bag. He could almost see her neat handwriting and her satisfied smile as she deposited it into her kit and locked it up. Sofia, on the other hand, was not getting anything. She sighed, switched off the UV light and took off the orange glasses. She caught his eyes and smiled.

Grissom felt a pang and turned away quickly to turn on the lights. Bright light suddenly flooded the room that was previously bathed in darkness, causing Sara to blink a couple of times, looking dazed. He bit back a smile, admiring how innocent she looked. Before he could continue gazing at her, Brass appeared on his left.

"Done yet?"

**GSRGSRGSRGSRGSR**

Grissom had urged Sara to take a shower, before forcing her to rest. He heard the faucet being turned on to the max, but even that couldn't drown out her sobs. He sat by the sofa, sighing. He had met Sara years ago, and they had an immediate connection. The only problem was that she was almost 15 years younger than him, and all he wanted was for her to be happy, even if she couldn't see it.

He never had the heart to _hurt_ her; from the time they had first met. He never turned her down directly; he just kept her hanging on this delicate thread. She'd hold on even tighter because she was never the kind to give up, however much it was hurting her.

But he just didn't have the heart to _love_ her, his job had always taken out more from him than anything else. 'Besides,' he rationalised to himself, 'She would be happier with another guy.' That's what he told himself daily since the day she'd asked him out, and he was _almost_ starting to believe it.

He heard the faucet being turned off, and she emerged a few minutes later, looking worn and smelling faintly of passion fruit. Still, Grissom felt the scent penetrate the whole apartment, from the intricately patterned fibers of the couch to the chaotic neurons of his mind.

"I'm going to rest now," she told him, looking down onto the floor, but with her voice saying something totally different. He wanted nothing more than to gather her in his arms, to tell her that everything would be all right.

He didn't, instead choosing to nod in acknowledgement. She understood, and went back into the room, shutting the door quietly. He stood there; undecided on what to do next, but eventually exited the main door, closing it gently behind him. It was only then that he finally felt the tears flow, his heart aching almost unbearably.

**GSRGSRGSRGSRGSR**

Sara immediately volunteered to take the powder to Trace, to Sofia's delight. Grissom groaned inwardly, he did not need more complicated situations in his name.

"So who do you think did it? If the baby powder's a match, it means the husband's lying."

Grissom nodded. "But why would he lie? He would have known we'd find the powder on her hands."

"That's true…" she mused. "Oh, and um, I was wondering if- "

"Hey, baby powder's a match. Oh, am I interrupting?" Sara asked, noticing their proximity. Grissom turned around before realising how close they had been sitting, and looked back quickly into Sara's eyes. Her eyes betrayed some sort of unreadable emotion, but it was quickly concealed once again behind those dark eyes.

"Oh no, we were just talking about the case. This disproves the husband's account then," Sofia said, quickly changing the subject.

"Accounts don't matter. People lie, the evidence doesn't. Good work, Sara," he said, looking into her eyes. She gazed right back into his blue eyes and smiled, albeit slightly sadly, and left.

'_You can't love her the way she wants you to_.' That was the only thing stopping him from going after her. Instead, he watched her as she walked away, slowly dissolving into the dark as Sofia started talking again.

That long day was finally drawing to an end; it had taken a toll on Grissom both physically and emotionally. The 'energy' from both women were almost too much to handle and Grissom was trying to clear his mind by staring at his many experiments that were housed in glass jars. The lab was thankfully silent at this time of the night.

"You got a minute?"

He turned around to face Sofia, who had a serious look etched onto her face.

"Sure. By the way, you did a nice job on the case," he added as an afterthought, remembering how he had praised Sara back there, not wanting to seem as though he was playing 'favourites'.

"I… uh… I just wanted you to know I've enjoyed working with you," She said, words tumbling over one another.

Grissom frowned slightly, his confusion apparent. "Well, I've enjoyed working with you as well." What he meant was that she _was_ dedicated – if not slightly over – to the job and to him. 'In more ways than one,' he thought to himself.

Sofia looked at him and smiled. "No, I think it's time I made a change. I don't like the direction the lab's heading."

"You mean Ecklie? You can't pay attention to him."

"No," Sofia said forcefully, shaking her blonde head around. "You've got a good team, but I was a supervisor. My demotion was undeserved, and everyday I'm here, I'm reminded of that."

Grissom froze, realising where Sofia was going with this. It was the '_I'm-going-to-quit-so-you'll-notice-me_' ploy, the same one Sara had pulled once, but without Grissom biting. All he did was send her a plant, and evidently it was enough for her, as she didn't quit. Sofia, on the other hand, didn't look like the type who'd be that easy to please.

He looked up at her, and she chuckled, sensing something was up. "What?"

He turned around, his back facing her.

"Well, someone once said 'what we are never changes, but who we are never stops changing.' " He muttered, stalling time to think about what he was about to do.

He turned back to see Sofia's slightly surprised expression turn smug, relishing the fact that he was quoting her. Grissom saw a figure just beyond the DNA lab. Sara. She looked so at ease, the most he'd seen her all day, talking to Greg.

She was twirling her hair around her index finger unconsciously as she laughed, probably at a joke Greg pulled. He could almost hear her tinkering laughter and smell her faint passion fruit shampoo. He knew he had to do what he was about to do, both for Sara _and_ the team's sake.

"Let's have dinner, shall we?" he asked, and watched Sofia's grey eyes go wide. She smiled, triumphant.

He knew this was the only way he could keep Sofia with the team, because he was already short-staffed at the moment. This was also the only way he could distance himself from Sara, for her own good.

He saw Sara turn away from Greg to glance into his office, but not before catching sight of Sofia. The laughter was still in her eyes, but he saw that abruptly change into hurt, almost anger.

It made his heart ache to see her eyes turn glassy under the lights, and then it struck him. There were words to describe what he was doing to her – hurting her because he loved her too much.

_Tough love__._

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**A/N:** I hope the flashbacks didn't seem to confusing, it's from Nesting Dolls. The dialog there and the last part with Sofia and Grissom is taken word-for-word from the episode. Thanks for reading!


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